Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Legendary Corvette “Rebel”

Throughout the sixty years of Corvette history there are relatively
few cars with the background, impressive credentials and significance of the
renowned #57 1969 L88 racecar known as “Rebel”.The Rebel was so famous and celebrated that Revell® offered a replica model
kit of the car in 1:24 scale.On
Saturday afternoon, January 18, 2014, Barrett-Jackson will auction the
legendary racecar during their annual Scottsdale auction extravaganza.

Revell Model Kit of the Rebel Note Year On Kit

Originally painted Daytona Yellow the L88 was one of only
116 produced for 1969 and was delivered in early January to Orlando Costanzo, SCCA
racer and sales manager for Ferman Chevrolet in Tampa, Florida. The car was one of only four prototype
lightweight L88’s that had new open-chamber heads and released early by GM
engineers to selected racers in order to get real world experience and feedback. Because of the early release some thought the car was a 1968 model but rest assured it is a 1969. In addition to the new open chamber heads, these
rare lightweight L88s also included the newZL-2 cold air induction hood, heavy duty clutch, smaller flywheel and a
heavy duty cross-flow aluminum radiator. Though the radio and heater delete
option RPO C-48 was eliminated in 1968 the lightweight L88’s had those items
deleted and also included the deletion of all sound insulation and rear cargo
area carpet.The lightweight L88s also
included an oil cooler, headers, and headlight kit in the trunk for the owner
to install at their discretion.

1969 L88 Engine

The second generation, open-chamber head L88s would not be
available to other buyers until June of 1969.In addition to the second generation L88 open-chamber engine and other
lightweight features, Costanzo’s Corvette came equipped with the mandatory L88
RPO’s: M-22 “rock crusher” four speed
transmission, J-56 heavy duty brakes,
F-41 special front and rear suspension, J-50 Vacuum Power Brakes, and the K-66
Transistor Ignition.

Costanzo and co-driver Dave Heinz had an impressive race
history in the SCCA and in the newly formed IMSA (International Motorsports
Association) race series. Costanzo
repainted the #57 Corvette in 1971 in a striking but controversial rebel flag
motif, a takeoff on competitor Don Greenwood’s cars painted in an American flag
design.The “Rebel,” as it became known,
raced against other legendary Corvettes like “the winningest Corvette in
history”, the Owens-Corning #12 Corvette, which was sold at Barrett-Jackson in
Scottsdale in 2013 for a $1M.But the
Rebel’s archrival was Don Greenwood’s #48 and #50 L88 Corvettes both painted in
the Stars and Stripes livery.

RED Racing's Rebel

In mid 1971 Costanzo sold his car to his team manager, Toye
English and his son Dana, who formed RED (Racing Engineering and Development)
racing team with Dave Heinz as his lead driver and Don Yenko as his
co-driver.English decided to keep the
Confederate flag paint scheme on the car because he thought it drew attention
to the rivalry he had with Greenwood in his Stars and Stripes painted
L88’s.The competition went beyond the
racetrack as RED’s L88 was the official test L88 for Goodyear® Tires and
Greenwood’s L88’s were the official test cars for BFGoodrich® tires.These cars were the contenders for the famous "tire wars" which took place in the 70's.In addition the L88 was a southern sponsored
car based in Florida and Greenwood’s L88 hailed from Michigan.Both teams had a large loyal fan base and the
livery of the cars only helped stoke the fires.

Greenwood's Stars & Stripes

In RED racing’s debut at Watkins Glen in July the
Confederate flag #57 Corvette driven by Heinz and Yenko finished second to the
Greenwood’s #49 American Flag motif Corvette co driven by Bob Johnson.But the “Rebel” team went on to win four of
five IMSA events in 1971 and captured the first IMSA Championship.During IMSA’s finale race at Daytona, Bob
Johnson and Don Yenko drove the #57 Corvette to the race win and GTO
Championship.In the process Yenko broke
the class speed record on a tri oval at 201.4.

The following year at the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring, the
Rebel qualified as the 13th fastest and second fastest in GT.Dave Heinz passed the pole position Corvette
(the ex Owens-Corning #12) on the first lap and led the GT class for the entire
12 hours, finishing 4th overall and 1st in GT. It was a record that stood until
Pratt & Miller’s 2003 results.

By the mid 1980’s the car fell into obscurity.It was found in 1991 by legendary Corvette
historian and restoration specialist Kevin Mackay, owner of Corvette Repair in Valley Stream, Long
Island.After tracking the ownership
history of the legendary race car he located it in a junk yard and purchased it
for $7000.Amazingly the car had all the original body panels, steering
wheel, gauges, shifter, and seats. In 1993 he resurrected the L88
restoring it to the way the car appeared during as the Rebel in the early
1970s. Mackay is famous for tracking
down, researching and restoring historic Corvettes.He spent several years trying to find the
long lost Lemans winning C1 for Chip Miller of Corvettes at Carlisle.Eventually Mackay’s persistence paid off, he tracked the car down,
acquired it and restored it for Miller.The saga became the subject of Michael Brown’s outstanding, award
winning documentary “The Quest”.(http://questdocumentary.com/)

Corvettes with a documented race history have
become the hottest category of collector cars.In September a 1967 L88 Corvette with a documented drag racing history
set a record for the price of a Corvette sold at auction, selling for
$3.2M.Second generation Corvette Z06s
are selling for $500K to over $1M and even authentic L88s without a race
history are selling above $500K.Barrett-Jackson is offering another historically significant L88 as a
part of their Salon Collection and will be sold the same day in Barrett-Jackson’s
brand new Scottsdale auction facility.If you’re a Corvette enthusiast or collector Barrett-Jackson is the
place to be on Saturday, January 18. (http://www.barrett-jackson.com/)

Rick Tavel …is a free lance automotive journalist and an avid car enthusiast. Though he spent his professional career as a business executive, now retired, he devotes his time to writing, organizing Corvette events, and evaluating Corvettes for prospective owners for his company R/TCorvetteConsultants.He is currently working on a book about the significance and development of the 1999 and 2000 Corvette Hardtop, known as the Fixed Roof Coupe. He raced as an avocation when he was younger and held an SCCA Professional Racing license and raced in the Minneapolis Grand Prix. He was active in the PCA. He currently owns a Corvette C5 FRC and a Corvette C6 Grand Sport convertible. In addition he owns and shows a vintage Pontiac Trans Am "survivor" which he is going to sell to acquire a 2nd Generation Corvette. He graduated from the University of Kentucky’s School of Journalism. When he isn't writing, researching, painting or driving he is usually enjoying time with his grand daughter, Avery, in her wonderful world of discovery and make believe. He lives with his wife and his dog, "Jazz", a West Highland White Terrier, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Gold Canyon, Arizona."

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